Welcome New Nature Educator, Greg Rajsky

In August Greg Rajsky joined Forest Preserves of Winnebago County as our new Naturalist/Educator at Severson Dells Nature Center. Greg brings extensive experience in nature education, citizen science and restoration ecology.

Early in life, Greg Rajsky recognized that he felt most deeply alive when immersed in nature. With that awareness, he has fostered a passion for conservation, ecology, and natural history, making lifelong learning a hallmark of his approach. In 1996, he obtained his Naturalist’s Certificate from the Morton Arboretum, where he has continued to teach a variety of courses. He also has taught Restoration Ecology at the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus and been a biology instructor with the Montessori School of Lake Forest.

For more than 25 years, Greg has been conducting ecological restoration throughout northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. He has been a volunteer steward since the 1990s, with direct involvement in citizen science, conducting biological surveys and monitoring organisms as diverse as frogs, plants, and freshwater mussels. In 2013, Greg established a consultancy through which he has coached landowners in methods to enhance the native biodiversity of their sites. An avid field botanist, Greg takes particular delight in exploring the flora of the northern Illinois region.